Category: Archive

Already operating in Docklands
As a result of work by Melbourne
Water and other organizations, including Monash, the rain gardens are
already operating in new residential developments, including Docklands,
and in inner urban areas such as Richmond.

Water-friendly plants
Averaging around five square metres in
size, the gardens “clean” stormwater run-off as it passes through a bed
of sandy loam soil which is filled with reeds and other water-friendly
plants.

Conference this week
These world-leading developments will be
highlighted this week at a major international conference in Melbourne,
organised by Dr Fletcher and Dr Ana Deletic from the Institute. The 7th
International Conference on Urban Drainage Modelling and the
International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design are being held
concurrently at the Grand Hyatt.

Reference: Ms Robyn Anns, Monash Media Communications, on +613 9906
9317 or 0417 568 781. Dr Tim Fletcher on 0407 617 662, or Dr Ana
Deletic on 0422 986 720.

Erisk Net, 4/4/2006

Not as bad as mainland: ECA International general manager Lee
Quane said that for Asian employees, Hong Kong was falling behind
cities such as Oslo, San Francisco and Washington it had previously
beaten. “However. it is still ranked more favourably than mainland
Chinese cities,” he said.

KL drops a notch: Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital
occasionally blanketed by smoke from Indonesian forest fire, also
dropped down in the survey because of air pollution.

Survey criteria: The ECA survey is based on assessment of
criteria such as crime and climate, not on the opinions of employees or
on financial costs.

Blame Guangdong: Hong Kong’s pollution, blown in from the
factories, vehicles and power stations of the neighbouring Chinese
province of Guangdong, has worsened but authorities have been slow to
respond and are reluctant to confront their counterparts in Guangdong
and Beijing.

High pollution score: Air Pollution is given 20 out of a total
Of 330 Points in the ranking system (with the highest score being the
worst). Hong Kong’s air pollution score is 14 compared with two for
Singapore.

Unpopular Baghdad: For expatriates, the worst cities ranked in the survey were Baghdad, Kabul and Karachi.

The Australian, 4/4/2006

Source: Erisk Net  

Reference: Mario Molina, 1995 Chemistry Nobel Prize Laureate, on the theme of “Risk Management”

Erisk Net, 4/4/2006

Taiwanese companies yesterday confirmed two separate deals to purchase Australian Uranium, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

 Taiwan is not a signatory to … more

Farmer successfully appealed: The Department of Infrastructure,
Planning and Natural Resources last year stopped legal action against
the farmer, Joseph Holmes, after he successfully appealed against a
remediation order that would have forced him to fence off the cleared
area and cease further clearing.

Legal action aimed to prevent further clearing: The NSW land
clearing campaigner for the Wilderness Society, Reece Turner, accused
the department of bungling the case and making farmers think illegal
clearing would go unpunished. In what is believed to be a state first,
the society has launched its own legal action against Holmes in the
Land and Environment Court, to prevent further clearing and return the
land to its original state.

Volume of actions to control clearing: The department said 12
cases of illegal land clearing had been prosecuted since 2002. A
further 21 stop work orders, 69 remediation notices, 60 remediation
agreements and 361 warning letters had been issued. The court is
expected to decide on Thursday whether to grant an injunction.

“All hot air and bullshit”: But Holmes called the legal action
“all hot air and bullshit”. Recent raking and burning on the property
was permitted, he said. “I’m not allowed to do any more clearing under
the property plan. There’s been work done up there, but not clearing.”

The Sydney Morning Herald, 3/4/2006, p. 6

Source: Erisk

Babcock and Brown not returning calls: Babcock & Brown is a
global investment company with offices across the United States,
Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. David Griffin, listed on the
development application as the chief executive officer of Renewable
Power, did not return calls made by The Canberra Times on 29 March.

Extensive construction to cause traffic problems: The
development would include construction of a substation, 12km of
overhead transmission lines and trenching to install 20km of
underground cables. An environmental assessment by the developer
estimated transporting and installing the turbines would raise
significant traffic and transport issues, including road safety and the
ability of local roads to handle the high volume of construction
traffic.

Development will damage endangered environment: A flora and
fauna assessment prepared for the project warned that the development
would involve “significant clearing” of high conservation value yellow
box woodlands. This type of woodland is listed in NSW as an endangered
ecological community.

Telecommunications may suffer from development: The assessment
also raised concerns about the possible impact on telecommunications –
including television reception, radar and mobile telephones – in the
region.

Local residents concerned by noise: William Hoorweg, who lives
on a property 18km from Bungendore, said he had “been bailed up at the
letterbox” some months ago by Mr Griffin. “He told me that wind
turbines would be going in around 1000m behind my place,” Mr Hoorweg
said. Mr Hoorweg said he was concerned that “the thumping noise” from
the turbines would “make life unbearable” and destroy the peace and
quiet of rural life in the region.

The Canberra Times, 30/3/2006, p. 2

Source: Erisk